News

During a visit in Stockholm, Sahlgrenska I.C. took the opportunity to visit  Rehab Station Stockholm – a reputable rehabilitation clinic especially  known for treatment of spinal cord injuries. Both Swedish and international patients are welcome to the clinic – either for day time training or accommodation in one of the wheelchair accessible rooms. A vast majority of the patients come from different parts of Sweden due to the agreements with county councils around the country.

Sahlgrenska I.C. is looking forward to a future collaboration regarding international patients who have received highly specialized care at   Sahlgrenska University Hospital. Lars Holmström, Chief Operating Officer at Rehab Station Stockholm – thank you for having us!

Rehab Station Stockholm

Suchitra Holgersson, professor in Transplantation Biology at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Michael Olausson, professor and chief physician at the Transplant Institute at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, were recently granted with SEK 400 000 from Gelinfonden. Both have an extensive experience within stam cell research.

The funding enables them to take this research further, more specifically to recreate arteries, blood vessels and liver tissue. In the future, recreating a whole liver with stam cells, and thus become an alternative to transplantation, will hopefully be possible. Even if we have a long way to go before this becomes a reality, Michael Olausson is positive that discoveries can be made that will allow us to take quick steps forward. – We began to transplant organs 60 years ago, but we have made more progress the past 10 years than the previous 50 years, says Michael Olausson. The research provides valuable knowledge for other medical areas as well. For example it gives researchers more information about how to store kidneys and other organs outside the body for a longer period of time.

To learn more about the upcoming research and the method behind it, please visit Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

Physiotherapist Kerstin Hagberg, part of the world leading team at the Centre of Orthopaedic Osseointegration (COO) at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, has been appointed associate professor. Her dissertation and research focuses on clinical studies of function and quality of life among transfemoral amputees and treatment with osseointegration. We had a quick chat with her about the appointment.

Congratulations, Kerstin! Associate professor, what does this mean to you?

– I am both honoured and happy that I have taken an additional step in my career. It allows me to apply for research funding only available for associate professors. I am actually doing this as as we speak. Furthermore, I am also authorized to be a member of examination boards and supervisor for PhD students – given someone asks me.

How will this academic distinction affect your work?

– No change at all, really. But I am happy that my research at the Department of  Prosthetics and Orthotics at Sahlgrenska University Hospital can contribute to a  field where the research at other hospitals in Sweden and worldwide has so far been limited.

In November 2013 Sahlgrenska I.C. will participate in the conference Equip´aid – Sharing for a better future. This will be the first international meeting of reference devoted to the improvement of medical equipment support projects for healthcare facilities in the field of international aid. Our International Aid Coordinator, Anders Lygdman, will participate and also deliver a presentation to the conference plenary on the subject: “Region Västra Götaland – an example of a coordinated system for donation of surplus medical equipment for international material aid“

Each year the Almedalen week in Visby, Sweden, gathers thousands of people interested in political and social issues. It has become a venue where politicians and representatives from different kinds of organizations can meet in an informal setting. During the 2012 Almedalen week, 1 800 events were held, a number that is expected to increase to over 2000 this year. This morning Region Skåne arranged a seminar called “Healthcare export for growth” where Sahlgrenska I.C:s CEO Marika Qvist participated.

During a market trip to Germany, Oscar Lindow and Paulina Sarbinowska from Sahlgrenska I.C. visited Klinikum Nürnberg. We shared our experiences regarding international patients, discussed similarities but also the challenges facing us as a consequence of the EU-directive for cross border healthcare. Tanya Porter, head of the International department has a long background within Medical Tourism and has been responsible for developing the international department at the clinic from the very start when it was founded, in 2004.

EULAR (The european league against reumatism) is an organization which strives to stimulate and support research, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of rheumatologic diseases. This year EULAR appointed the Department of Rheumatology at Sahlgrenska Academy/Sahlgrenska University Hospital to Centre of Excellence, a prestigious award which the department now shares with two other research centres/hospitals in Scandinavia.

Hans Carlsten, professor and consultant at the Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research and Boel Mörck, doctor and head of the Department of Rheumatology at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital point out the good collaboration between the hospital and the academy as the key success factor which made this award possible.

For more information, please visit the Sahlgrenska Academy.

Sahlgrenska I.C. wishes you a pleasant and relaxing summer! Our office will be staffed weekdays 8.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. (CEST) during the holidays.

Phone: +46 31 342 68 00

Email: info@sahlgrenskaic.com

Today, the last day of EMSOS 2013, it is possible for healthcare professionals particularly interested in Osseointegration to follow lectures on the subject presented by the COO team from Sahlgrenska University Hospital. Rickard Brånemark, director of the Centre of Orthopedic Osseointegration at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, presented an overview of the advancements in the osseointegration treatment from when it was founded until today.

For example he mentioned that the method is very suitable for thumb amputees who can restore up to 80 percent of their functionality. The COO team expects an increase of these patients in the near future.

Gunilla Persson talking to orthopeadic surgeons from the UK about her experience with a bone-anchored prosthesis.

The 2013 European MusculoSkeletal Oncology Society (EMSOS) exhibition and congress is underway. Today the participants could take part not only in interesting lectures performed by orthopaedic surgeons and other health care professionals, but also listen to patients’ own experiences.

Christopher McCann underwent the Osseointegration treatment in 2010. At EMSOS he held a presentation about “Three legs in 10 years”.